Percentages
Percentages refer to a portion or a fraction of a whole. A
percentage is an amount that is expressed as a certain portion of 100 parts.
The symbol for percent is %.
Percentages in Written Form
Percentages in written form use cardinal numbers. Percentages in numerical form
use the number and the % symbol.
· 10% = ten percent
· 25% = twenty-five percent
· 75% = seventy-five percent
· 100% = one hundred percent
Percentage as a Collective Noun
The word "percentage" is a collective noun. A collective noun
indicates a group of people. Depending on the noun used with
"percentage", it will determine if you use a singular or plural verb
form.
Correct: What percentage of students are going to college?
Incorrect: What percentage of students is going to college?
Correct: Fifty percent of marriages end in divorce these days.
Incorrect: Fifty percent of marriages ends in divorce these days.
Correct: Eighty percent of the house was damaged by the fire.
Incorrect: Eighty percent of the house were damaged by the fire.
Percentage Used Later in a Sentence
If "percentage" comes later in the sentence, the verb will depend on
the noun it is referring to.
· John is donating one hundred percent of
his profits to charity.
· Susan is only working fifty percent of
the time.
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